Straight Outta Flintstones

This giant kong skull is just one of the many oddly formed boulders throughout the park.

If you enter from the West Entrance Station, you can see it on your right from the road just beyond the Jumbo Rocks Campground. There’s also an easy scenic trail within the campground near the amphitheater.

The Arch was a little bit more sneaky, but if you stay to the right of the trail, in the White Tank Campground, you’ll spot the arch peeking around the corner.

Kick back, and chill out damside.

Take the Hidden Valley Campground Road,  and on your left is the Keys Ranch parking lot, where you’ll find the Dam Trail. I love saying that..

Once you’re at a decent distance on the trail(If you decide to be so bold) scramble over the boulders to your right and you’ll find the most incredible variety of cacti, and a stone staircase.

If you don’t mind gettin a little dirty this gem is worth the visit.

Once you get to this little stone hut you can either vear off to the left to the look out of the mine, or you can take a right and head down the canyon to go check it out.

“A hug would be nice, but hug my flower with your eyes”

A garden infested with cactus as far as the eye can see.

Right down the road, you’ll spot these tall stalks of vibrant green, randomly shooting out of the soil. At the right time of year, they’ll bear the most beautiful bright red blossoms.

 

Climb Time!

This is the place to come if you enjoy a good climb. There are some pretty awesome rock formations all throughout the park, but there’s a couple in particular that you shouldn’t miss.

From easiest to gnarliest:

 

Quail Springs is a prefect place for beginners, and practice runs.

The whole camp ground is littered with giant boulders and cool little crevasses.

Theres a couple pretty decent stacks sprawled out in hidden valley for intermidate climbers with equipment.

And those mad men looking for a cheap way to die or a walk on the wild side have come to the right place. Hall of Horrors offers 4 routes up the death rock. Right On, Walk on the Wild Side, Harlequin, and a Cheap Way to Die.

With all these intense climbs your going to need somewhere to rest. All the campgrounds here have there charms but there’s one in particular that comes in 1rst

The Hidden Valley Campground is by far my favorite in the park. Just check out the guy chillen in a hammock up in the rock hole. Virtually all of the sites are tucked away in their own unique rock palace.

This campground is best suited for tent campers, because the vehicle size max is 25ft. If you have a motor home or an airstream the Jumbo Rocks Campground is the place for you. Much like hidden valley, jumbo rocks has a vast assortment of gigantic rocks spread throughout the grounds.

Tips:

1.Cell service is spotty at best so don’t rely on in it for navigation. Pick up a free map at the entrance station and plan your course. It’s pretty simple getting around, there’s a main road that runs all through the park. And campgrounds and sights are pretty well marked.

2.You can reserve a spot online (A couple campgrounds require it) but you never know what it’s like until your there. My advice is to drive around the park and sample all the campgrounds until you find one that suits you, and leave something on the table so someone doesn’t snag it while you go pay.

3. Bring gallons and gallons of water, there are only three campgrounds (on the outskirts) that provide water: Black Rock, Indian Cover, Cottonwood Spring, and the entrance stations.

4. Fill up your gas tank, and consider bringing a full gas can. I don’t imagine it being very fun getting stuck out here.

5. Look before you step, there’s all types of critters and cacti you can run into on the trails.

5 1/2. With that being said, I spotted all sorts of wildlife like coyotes, owls, roadrunners, ravens, jack rabbits, cactus wrens, lizards, quail, and even a snake. So watch your footing, take a picture, and walk on. And please refrain from harrasing the critters and their homes.

6.And as always have fun!

Thanks for reading:)